Ford CEO Warns of Big Impact From Trump's Proposed Tariff

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s proposal to levy a 35 percent tariff on cars made in Mexico would hurt the U.S. economy, according to the head of Ford Motor Co. -- the target of the future president’s tariff talk.

“A tariff like that would be imposed on the entire auto sector and that could have a huge impact on the U.S. economy,” Mark Fields, Ford’s chief executive officer, told reporters following a speech at the AutoMobility conference in Los Angeles. Ford favors “free and fair trade.”

Trump has criticized Ford for planning to move all its North American small-car production to Mexico, where wages are 80 percent lower than in the U.S. During the campaign, he threatened to slap Ford’s Mexican-built cars with a 35 percent tariff. He also said he would terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which lets goods flow between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada without tariffs.

Fields said that the company has been in touch with Trump’s transition team and that he sent a congratulatory letter to the president-elect.

“I continue to be convinced that the right policies will prevail, because I think we all share the same objective, which is a healthy and vibrant U.S. economy,” Fields said. “We expect to work very effectively and positively with the president-elect’s administration as well as the new Congress.”

Jobs Dispute

During the presidential campaign, Ford pushed back on Trump’s assertions that the company was moving jobs to Mexico. The Wayne, Michigan, factory losing the Focus small car and C-Max hybrid will get new production of a Ranger pickup and revived Bronco sport utility vehicle, people familiar with the plans have said. Ford has said no jobs will be lost at the Michigan plant.

Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, great-grandson of the company’s founder, even met with Trump, but the candidate’s criticism of the automaker continued.

“We are everything that he should be celebrating about this country,” Bill Ford said in September.

Fields said Tuesday at the conference, which is the kickoff to the Los Angeles Auto Show, that company officials have talked to Trump’s transition team and expect to be able to work with him as president.

“We look forward to working with the new administration and the entire newly elected Congress,” Fields said. “We’re in constant communication.”

President-elect Donald J. Trump's proposal to levy a 35 percent tariff on cars made in Mexico would hurt the U.S. economy, according to the head of Ford Motor Co. -- the target of the future president's tariff talk.